THE WOMEN INDEX | MIHAELA BALAN

THE WOMEN INDEX is an ongoing editorial archive exploring how women shape their worlds.

Through four lenses: WHO, WHERE, WHAT, and LEARN & CULTURE, each edition maps the people, places, rituals, objects, and cultural references that influence the way women live, create, work, and move through the world.

Part interview, part cultural index, the project aims to build a living global archive of female influence, one woman at a time.

For the inaugural edition of The Women Index, we step inside the world of Mihaela Balan, partner at Circle Square Agency and co-owner of Hip Boulevard.

I invited Mihaela to be part of this project because I have long admired the universe she has built around herself. The way she dresses, the places she discovers, the brands she supports, her eye for beauty and detail: everything feels thoughtfully curated, like a collection of small works of art. And I also see her as the epitome of beauty, elegance and femininity at its fullest. It would have been a shame not to share that world with my community.

Who: I read a lot about women. Biographies make a significant part of my documentation, learning and inspiration - ongoing process, if I may call it so. I wouldn't dare say one is more important than others; their life story is food for the hungry soul. From Martha Bibescu and Cella Delavrancea to Frida Kahlo and Madeleine Albright, there is so much elegance and tact that one can absorb.

Where: For this one I could share an extensive Google Maps list :).

In Bucharest,

• I constantly eat at Must Bistro
• I have coffee at Gluten Glory
• Love the pop-up dinners by What.IF.

Women-led Romanian brands I cherish are:

• Madeleine and Obsidian for jewelry
• evening wear from Moos
• daytime coolness from PNK and 1atribut
• and accessories from Katerini Mou.
• I recently found in Venice a headpiece brand by Evelyne Aymon
• my favorite vintage store in Firenze is C'Est Chic. Both owned by women.

I'll add some personal recommendations in Paris:

• the garden of Hotel de Sully - stroll and be amazed
• the outlet of Zadig&Voltaire - Parisian rock'n'roll
• Medici Fountain - just stop and sip a coffee
• Giacometti Institute - atelier and spirit of one of the most grandiose sculptors
• Angelina - the boutique for teas
• Musée de l'Orangerie and Musée YSL
• Dior restaurant and Michalak Pastry Shop for a little indulgence.

What: I like to do my skincare and makeup, but not as an obsession, but rather as a little time for myself; for longevity, I like to do (IV) glutathione and vitamin drips twice a year. Plus yoga once a week.

Skincare "tips": less pastry and pasta. It did marvels for my skin. Vintage porcelain cups are part of the daily ritual - for tea or coffee - I'd say they give me a generous boost of serotonin in the morning.

Learn & culture:I'm very much into art & design social accounts that speak about exhibitions or collectors. One that I like is @charlesgmagne, also @artefr.

I also search for all sorts of documentaries on YouTube, but I don't have a favorite channel.

Classical music is a necessity, and the place to go to on a Friday evening is the Radio Hall. Art Basel (in Switzerland) showed me so much beyond art and galleries - a world of multicultural diversity and unwired connection. RAD Sculpture Park in Bucharest deserves a round of applause for the quality of the curation.

There are many excellent art museums, but I'd mention two that are not so well known but deserve a crown:

• Fondation Beyeler, near Basel
• Lisbon's Calouste Gulbenkian Museum
• Plus, the custom contemporary art displays at Chateau d'Oiron in the Loire Valley.